Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Whilst sitting and contemplating life, my fabulous mother came to me with a splendid idea; she said, "Oh, apple of my eye, I do think you should outline your house with masking tape before you make your blueprints." And I replied "Thou doth have a gift of brilliance."And so, this is how my magnificent masking tape home... came to be.

(I suddenly felt the mood to talk all fancy. Comment if you want more...or don't)

Sunday, August 26, 2012

Because of the need to get away from my parents, I started to research the topic of building a tiny house, but as I dug more deeply, I realized I was building my tiny house for the same reason pioneers moved west, away from their families: I want independence.That is the American Dream, right? To have independance.When I told my softball team I was building a tiny house, all of them said, "Why don't you just buy one?" I was apalled. At first I thought,'I won't buy a tiny house because it would cost a lot of money,' then I thought, 'Because it would be fun!' But then I realized that those reasons weren't why. Buying a tiny house would mean I was dependent on a mega-superstore to build my house; I would be dependent.Tiny houses, in my opinion, symbolize freedom and independence; you peel away all of the accumulated stuff (blog on stuff to come soon, you might want to set aside some time for that. I've got a lot to say.) and then there you are...the real you.Why am I so caught up in this tiny little question? Because I've always been dependant.My dependance comes in many ways: my mother making dinner every night, my alarm clock every morning, my father for technical problems. I am always dependant! So the one time I try to be dependent...I get shot down by my friends(I can leave my family out of this because they support me 110% in whatever I choose to do). But maybe not; am I really discouraged, or has this one question given me a driving force to complete my project? Sometimes the answer is in the question.On a less deep and contemplative note, I am moving onto blueprints! And after that, material gathering! Shockingly, I might even get a major material this Labor Day; my family and I are going to visit one of my mom's BFFs, Luke Bair (he owns an organic farm and sells vegetables and heritage pork to the public, so look him up!), on his 100-acre farm in West Virginia. He is generously donating a gently used 6'x16'(we think) trailer on which I will build my house and live happily ever after.

(I am very proud. It took a couple re-modelings, but it is just how I pictured it. The blue pegs are my ladder to go up the loft, and during the day, they will close flush with the support beam. On the left is my closet/kitchen shelf/linen closet. This is a major structural feature and provides justthe right amount of storage for one person.)

1/2 to go:﻿

(Looking good! Gotta add a few minor details, like a daybed in the bump, and then I am ready to draw blueprints and elevations!)

Friday, August 17, 2012

Alright! I am ready to rock and roll! Today was the first official day that I got serious about building my house. I just made my plan of attack, and now I'm getting started. The first thing I did was to find my needs: find out who is going to be at my house(me, my mother, my father, and my friends) and what their needs are(for me, a place for reading, sun, and a kitchen; for my parents, a place to hangout and talk with me; for my friends, a place to hangout with a screen of some sort to watch movies with my friends. All of this will somehow make its way into my 6' by 16' tiny house; maybe each space will have a totally separate use along with those listed above.Next I had to draw my bubble plan! To make my bubble plan I drew how I thought I might like my home to be laid out; I drew my kitchen as a bubble in the back of the house; obviously the kitchen will not be a bubble in the final product, but... I like the idea of it being in the back of the house. This is how it went for the ENTIRE HOUSE(which really wasn't that much of a house :P); I drew a plan for the bottom and the top, which I might add that while doing the top floor was a piece of cake, the bottom floor took time and effort; look at the comparison: The Bottom:

The Top:

And of course, you have to have a snack when you're hard at work... building a house: